Assisted Conception Unit 11 th Floor, Tower Wing Guy s Hospital, Great Maze Pond London SE1 9RT Tel:.020 7188 2300 Fax: 020 7188 0490 THE LAW - CONCEPTION USING DONOR EGGS OR SPERM Introduction If you are trying to conceive with donor eggs or sperm, either one or other of you will not have a genetic link with your child. This will explain how the law applies to you as any future child s parents, and to the donor who helps you to conceive. Who will be the child s mother? Under UK law, a woman who carries and gives birth to a child is recognised to be their legal mother. This means that, if you conceive using donor eggs and carry your child, the egg donor is not legally recognised. You would be the child s mother. We are a lesbian couple, what are our legal rights? If you are in a civil partnership you have the same legal rights as a married couple. You can both be named on your child s birth certificate which gives you both full parental rights and responsibilities for your child. If you are not in a civil partnership you will both need to sign 'parenthood consent forms' and both be present at the registration of your child's birth to enable you both to be named on your child's birth certificate. I am married or in a civil partnership and we intend to use donor sperm or donor embryos in our treatment; who will be the child s father? If you are married or in a civil partnership then your spouse will automatically be recognised as the legal parent of the child, unless they explicitly state that they do not consent to your treatment. There is a section in the new parenthood consent forms that asks this question. If you have treatment using donor sperm or embryos created with donor sperm and your partner has explicitly stated in the form that they do not consent to your treatment, they will not be the legal parent of any child born from your treatment. The child will have a mother but no second legal parent. Whose name will be on the birth certificate? If you are married or civil partners your husband/civil partner will be named on the birth certificate whether or not they are present at the birth registration. They will Conceiving with Donor Eggs or Sperm Version: 6 Page 1 of 5
automatically have parental responsibility for a child conceived through this fertility treatment. This will give them full legal parental rights. We are not married and intend to use donor sperm or embryos in our treatment, who will be the child's father? If you are an unmarried couple using donor sperm or embryos in your treatment then your partner will not automatically your child s legal parent. To become the legal parent you will both need to complete and sign parenthood consent forms indicating your joint intention to be legal parents before your treatment begins. You will then need to both be present at the birth registration and provide copies of these parenthood consent forms in order for your partner to be named on the birth certificate as a legal parent. What if I can t be present at the registration of the birth? If you are not named on the birth certificate, you will not be the legal parent and will not have parental responsibility for your child, which means that you will have: no legal right to make decisions about your child s welfare (for example in giving medical consent or in influencing your child s education) and, no automatic right to care for your child if your partner dies Can this situation be changed? It is possible to apply for parental responsibility after the birth of the child either by signing an agreement with your child s mother or by applying to court for a parental responsibility order. This will give you the legal rights to care for and make decisions about your child until they are 18. It is important to realise that having parental responsibility is a temporary relationship which lasts until your child is 18. It is different from legal parenthood which is a permanent status and gives your child, amongst other things, rights of inheritance and citizenship from you. The only way to acquire legal parenthood if you are not named on the birth certificate is either through adoption or a court order. What is the donor s legal position? The donor will not be the legal parent and will have no parental rights, claims or responsibilities for any child born from his or her donation. The donor cannot be pursued by you for financial contribution to your child s upbringing. Donors can withdraw their consent to the use of their eggs or sperm or any embryos created from them until the point when they have been transferred in the clinic to the recipient. Conceiving with Donor Eggs or Sperm Version: 6 Page 2 of 5
The donor has the right to know how many children have been born from his/her donation, their gender and year of their birth if they request this information from the HFEA. What if I know the donor, or he / she is a member of the family? If your donor donates through a licensed treatment centre then the donor will have no legal rights or responsibilities even if they are a close friend or member of the family and intend to have some practical involvement in the child s upbringing. I/we intend to use a known sperm donor, what rights will they have? As long as the known donor donates through a licensed clinic then he is legally in the same position as an anonymous donor and will have no legal rights or responsibilities towards any children conceived. What if my intended sperm donor intends to be involved with the child? If your known sperm donor intends to be involved with the child then to ensure that there is a mutual understanding as to what each party expects from the arrangement at the start, we strongly advise you to seek legal advice before entering into such an agreement. What information is available to us and our child about their donor? From 1 April 2005 this is the information the HFEA has collected from donors: their physical description (height, weight, eye and hair colour) if provided by the donor the year and country of their birth their ethnicity whether they had any children, how many and their gender their marital status their medical history a goodwill message to any potential children, if provided by the donor identifying information (the donor s name, date of birth and last known address). Donor-conceived people conceived after 1 April 2005, when they reach 16 years old, are able to apply to the HFEA to receive the non-identifying information that their donor provided (all information given by the donor except for their name and last-known address). Donor-conceived people conceived after 1 April 2005, when they reach 18 years old are able to apply to the HFEA to find the information their donor provided, including identifying information. Conceiving with Donor Eggs or Sperm Version: 6 Page 3 of 5
Information about donor-conceived genetic siblings Donor-conceived genetic siblings are those born from sperm, eggs or embryos donated by the same donor. Donor-conceived people 16 years or older are entitled to anonymous information about any donor-conceived genetically related siblings they may have including the number, sex and year of birth. If 18 years old and over, they will be able to find out identifying information about any donor-conceived genetic siblings, if both sides consent. The HFEA has established a Donor Sibling Link Register where donor-conceived people over 18 who would like to be contacted by their donor-conceived genetic siblings can submit their contact details. Inclusion on this register is voluntary and excludes the donor s natural / legal children. Avoiding a relationship with donor-conceived siblings 16 year olds who intend to enter into an intimate physical relationship can submit a joint application to establish whether they are genetically related. Also, anyone who intends to marry, or enter into a civil partnership, may submit a joint application to establish whether they are genetically related. What non-identifying information will I/we be given about the donor? If you request it you will be given all the non-identifying information about the donor. What identifying information will I/we be given about the donor? There is no plan to make identifying information about donors available to people undergoing treatment at any time. It is important to understand that the right to this information belongs to your child once he or she is 18, and not to you as the parents. It has no impact on either your, or on the donor s, legal rights and responsibilities. I do not know the donor. What information will they be given about me? None. The donor has no right to know anything about you, and to disclose identifying information is a criminal offence. References Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. 8 th Code of Practice (2009) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (1991) Conceiving with Donor Eggs or Sperm Version: 6 Page 4 of 5
Ed: Hammer, Burns & Covington, Infertility Counselling, A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians. (2000) Further Information Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF www.hfea.gov.uk and http://www.hfea.gov.uk/8350.html Tel: 020 7291 8200 Fax: 020 7291 8201 They will give you further up to date information about the legal aspects of conceiving with donor sperm or eggs. British Infertility Counselling Association will provide information about finding a local counsellor who you can talk through some of the issues with. See www.bica.net or contact 01372 451626 Donor Conception Network. PO Box 7471, NOTTINGHAM, NG3 6ZR. Contact: 020 8245 4369 or www.donor-conception-network.org. The organisation will give you further useful information on donor conception. Conceiving with Donor Eggs or Sperm Version: 6 Page 5 of 5